Are there specific elements of the design that can be pulled out, distilled, and used at will to give a game drug-like properties? Is it wrong to do so?
Might as well be asking:
Are there specific compounds in cigarettes that can be used to make them addictive? Is it wrong to do so?
The fact of the matter is that cigarette companies (and computer game companies) have no one to answer to but their customers and share holders, and both will be happiest when they produce the most addictive product possible. 'Right' or 'wrong' is irrelevant to them, only 'legal' and 'illegal,' so if we want to prevent the creation of addictive games, our only recourse is legislation.
by Eli Maor. ISBN: 0691141347
I read this book the summer before taking calculus, and I learned the core concepts of calculus from it (limit, derivative, integral, fundamental theorem). I still had to learn the specifics in class, but having that conceptual foundation made everything easier.
The book is full of interesting historical tidbits. For instance, did you know that the inventor/discoverer of the logarithm was excommunicated from the Catholic Church? I don't remember the circumstances now--I suppose Google could help, but I know it's in this book.
Um, they speak English in India. At least, it's relatively common there compared to other parts of Asia (comes with the former-English-colony territory).
I've also seen a prediction that in some small number of years (like 10), China will become the world's largest English-speaking nation.
They'd be in a lot of legal trouble if they called it PassiveAggressiveStorm, since my girlfriend has already patented the idea, trademarked the name, and holds the copyright on a number of creative implementations.
I kid, I kid.
Ha ha ha. Good joke. Imagine that, a Slashdot reader with a girlfriend . . .
Yeah, but their dictionary attack would be slowed down by a factor of
(number of distinct characters in password) * (number of characters used for code)**2
which is pretty big. Considering dictionary attacks are slow to start with, I'd say this is pretty safe. Particularly if failed attempts are logged somewhere that is checked occasionally.
So, is the measurement dependent on an exact lab controlled temperature, or can a measuring device work in environments where the temperature may vary?
Specifically, could the device already be implanted in the bloodstream to accurately detect specific viruses or cancer DNA by weight, or would it need more work to adjust for temperature variations?
Also, I might as well ask, is bombarding DNA with lasers harmful?
Good questions, but I think you're looking a bit too far down the road. This kind of technology fits in the lab more than the bloodstream. Just because the cantilever is nanoscale it doesn't meant that the entire device, and a wireless transmitter, could be shrunk down and put in the blood stream and somehow made to conduct tests on the DNA extracted from passing cells and viruses. Rather, I think this technology is promising for lab-on-a-chip applications, where DNA analysis of a single drop of blood can be conducted in minutes rather than weeks by using small, disposable devices manufactured onto silicon chips.
I think the opposite is true. While technology is creating cars that are capable of driving faster, it makes no difference if your driver is no good. Also, when you hear about these kinds of advances, they're talking about shaving a fraction of a second off of a lap, or maybe a few seconds off of a race that could be hours long. In order to take advantage of such a miniscule technological advantage, your driver had better be near-perfect.
Now, when they start having a computer decide how much to accelerate, or brake, or turn the wheel, then I'll stop calling it a sport.
Well, CNN has been updated by now, but in fact Ohio was not too close to call. NBC and Fox called Ohio last night (or early this morning, I suppose) at what I consider the right time (Bush had at least 100,000 votes on Kerry, and there were ~95% of precincts reporting). In the end Bush took Ohio by a larger margin (147,000) than Kerry took Washington (120,000), Oregon (71,000), Minnesota (98,000), Wisconsin (11,000) and Pennsylvania (122,000 -- and Pennsylvania was one of the first swing states to be called). As I see it, the only reason CNN, etc. left Ohio "Too close to call" until this morning was because they wanted to wait until the Kerry camp officially showed that they weren't going to contest it.
Also, while you are right that almost half the voters didn't want Bush, it's also true that over half the voters didn't want Kerry.
Warming the lake was something of a concern, but since the lake is so deep, and receives so much cold runoff every year (from snow storms) it really wasn't a concern. The temperature reaches an equilibrium eventually, and it was determined that in this case, the equilibrium was barely different from the natural condition. Besides, any environmental effects from warming the bottom of the lake by half a degree are negligible compared to the energy and chemical waste from mechanical air conditioning systems.
Actually no. I posted the other one, then thought the joke was more appropriate here. Besides, Funny doesn't affect karma (and, my karma's already Excellent anyway).
After the study, the monkeys proceeded to work out not only their script for Hamlet, but also the complete works of Francis Bacon, and the source to SCO Unix.
Slashdot Mirror
a fucking book on how routing works
Now there's a fetish you'll only run across on Slashdot.
was that those 7,300 votes were all cast by the same person.
Might as well be asking:
The fact of the matter is that cigarette companies (and computer game companies) have no one to answer to but their customers and share holders, and both will be happiest when they produce the most addictive product possible. 'Right' or 'wrong' is irrelevant to them, only 'legal' and 'illegal,' so if we want to prevent the creation of addictive games, our only recourse is legislation.
Further reading: Supercapitalism by Robert Reich
This is true, but the "uninhabitable zone" would be much greater. Astronomically greater, I think is the appropriate way of stating it.
by Eli Maor. ISBN: 0691141347 I read this book the summer before taking calculus, and I learned the core concepts of calculus from it (limit, derivative, integral, fundamental theorem). I still had to learn the specifics in class, but having that conceptual foundation made everything easier. The book is full of interesting historical tidbits. For instance, did you know that the inventor/discoverer of the logarithm was excommunicated from the Catholic Church? I don't remember the circumstances now--I suppose Google could help, but I know it's in this book.
Um, they speak English in India. At least, it's relatively common there compared to other parts of Asia (comes with the former-English-colony territory).
I've also seen a prediction that in some small number of years (like 10), China will become the world's largest English-speaking nation.
This version has better sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3iryBLZCOQ (and something of an explanation of the poor sound in the original).
A shorter, juicier title would be: Wii Are The Champions, My Friends
I can't speak for municipal IT workers, but teachers are incredibly hard to fire:
How to Fire an Incompetent Teacher (make sure you check out the PDF flowchart)
The Ten Worst Union-Protected Teachers
My first thought was, how could we speak before we could think? But that was before I read the comments . . .
can it run Linux?
I kid, I kid.
Ha ha ha. Good joke. Imagine that, a Slashdot reader with a girlfriend . . .
Slashdot my bank account . . .
Just deposit to account 1241234234 . . .
Yeah, but their dictionary attack would be slowed down by a factor of (number of distinct characters in password) * (number of characters used for code)**2 which is pretty big. Considering dictionary attacks are slow to start with, I'd say this is pretty safe. Particularly if failed attempts are logged somewhere that is checked occasionally.
--A proud Cornellian (albeit not in A&EP)
"Nazi" is a proper noun and should be capitalized.
We're not just spelling Nazis.
(All in good humor. This is what happens when you grow up with an English teacher for a mother.)
I think the opposite is true. While technology is creating cars that are capable of driving faster, it makes no difference if your driver is no good. Also, when you hear about these kinds of advances, they're talking about shaving a fraction of a second off of a lap, or maybe a few seconds off of a race that could be hours long. In order to take advantage of such a miniscule technological advantage, your driver had better be near-perfect.
Now, when they start having a computer decide how much to accelerate, or brake, or turn the wheel, then I'll stop calling it a sport.
Well, CNN has been updated by now, but in fact Ohio was not too close to call. NBC and Fox called Ohio last night (or early this morning, I suppose) at what I consider the right time (Bush had at least 100,000 votes on Kerry, and there were ~95% of precincts reporting). In the end Bush took Ohio by a larger margin (147,000) than Kerry took Washington (120,000), Oregon (71,000), Minnesota (98,000), Wisconsin (11,000) and Pennsylvania (122,000 -- and Pennsylvania was one of the first swing states to be called). As I see it, the only reason CNN, etc. left Ohio "Too close to call" until this morning was because they wanted to wait until the Kerry camp officially showed that they weren't going to contest it.
Also, while you are right that almost half the voters didn't want Bush, it's also true that over half the voters didn't want Kerry.
Actually no. I posted the other one, then thought the joke was more appropriate here. Besides, Funny doesn't affect karma (and, my karma's already Excellent anyway).
Or how 'bout this?
I think we need Tux in the classrooms:
"The only safe Windows is abstinence"
I don't care if it's a Starter Edition or a Missle Defense Edition, I still say, the only safe Windows is abstinence.
After the study, the monkeys proceeded to work out not only their script for Hamlet, but also the complete works of Francis Bacon, and the source to SCO Unix.
"Pass me that suntan lotion."
"The SPF 30 or 45?"
"Well, Slashdot said we might get hit by a giant laser..."
"The 45, then."